Bad Teacher
Instead, she wraps her arms around me and hugs me tight.
The warmth of her embrace overwhelms me to the point that I lose myself in her. I don’t know how she does it. How she’s so empathetic when there’s nothing in it for her.
“We’ll get through this,” she whispers.
“I know,” I say, my fingers scrunching up her shirt to hold her closer.
“I can help.”
“How?” I ask. “No one can. It’s all lies, but I can’t prove a thing. I know she’s their prime source, but I can’t do a damn thing. No one will believe me. I’m just the perpetrator in this story.”
“You’re the victim, and I will prove it.” She grabs my shoulders and pushes back so she can look at me. And god, the way she does it makes me feel so weak and strong at the same time.
But this is not her fight.
I grab her face and let my thumb graze across her lips, thinking how I should’ve kissed her more. I’m worried … worried that I might not just lose my job, my business … but my relationship too. Whatever we had might be crushed under the weight of the media pressing down on us and continuously harassing us. It’s just not worth it.
“I don’t want to see you get hurt by this,” I say. She might not realize it, but it’s true. I care too much about her to make her go through the media frenzy. To make her watch my downfall. To witness the destruction. And to be in the center of it all.
“Maybe you should just—”
She presses a finger to my lips. “Don’t you say a word, Teddy Junior Morrows.”
My eyes turn into slits. “Who said you could use that name?”
“No one,” she says with a smirk. “But I will not let you ruin what we have just because of a news article. I’ve already gotten past the fact you’re a perverted man, so I can get past the fact people know.”
Her rant is actually quite cute. Especially when she’s all up in my face like that with her sass. Makes me wanna do other things … things I should not be thinking about right now.
“And I know what you’re thinking, but don’t get it into your head that we’re going to bounce around the room right now.”
“Bounce?” I chuckle. “You’ve got a colorful vocabulary.”
“You haven’t heard the half of it yet,” she boasts. “But I’m not going to sit here and do nothing while they rip you to shreds. Nuh-uh. If you wanna take it and let them walk all over you, be my guest, but I’m going to fix this shit right now.”
“I’m not letting them walk all over me. I was thinking of waiting until it blows over.” That’s a lie, but I don’t want her to know I feel defeated.
“Good for you.” She sticks up her thumbs. “But I’m not going to let some jealous bitch ruin your reputation.”
“What are you going to do about it?” I raise a brow. “Throw a tantrum like you’re doing now?”
She picks up the pillow from the floor and throws it at me again. “Asshole.”
I laugh. “What? You know I like it when you’re all sass.”
“All sass and no play,” she growls. “This bitch means business.”
“If you keep that up, I might have to call security,” I jest.
“Try me.” She puts up her fists. “I’ll beat the shit out of each one of them if that means I’ll get my way.”
“And what is your way exactly?” I ask, cocking my head.
“Getting that bitch who slandered you to admit she lied, get it on tape, and throw it out into the world.”
“So that’s your plan?”
“Yup,” she says, and she grabs the paper off the desk and rolls it up to stuff it into her bag. “And there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
“I never said I wanted to,” I say, leaning back in my chair.
“Oh, so that’s what CEOs do all day? Lean back and let everyone else do the work for them?”
“Got that right … and you know what else? You’ll make a damn fine CEO yourself one day.”
Her cheeks turn red, and I smile with delight.
“Thanks,” she says. “But before I start my own business, I gotta save yours.”
“Hey, I’m not forcing you to do anything. You know I’d prefer it if you didn’t, right? This could get me into real trouble.”
“I know you don’t, and I won’t, I promise,” she says, kissing me on the forehead. “But I gotta try.”
Before she can turn around, I grab her face and pull her in for a kiss. “You know I love it when you’re feisty like this,” I whisper against her lips.
A dirty grin spreads across her lips. “You should see me when I meet that girl …”
“Please don’t punch her in the face,” I joke, which makes her chuckle.